The war with the Klingon Empire continues. Every day Starfleet receives more and more reports of attacks by the Klingons and their allies along the border between Klingon and Federation space. In an effort to be better able to respond to Klingon incursions, Admiral Quinn has organized Task Force Hippocrates to patrol the conflict region. Starfleet has been cycling ships in through the task force, temporarily assigning ships to the region to replace ships pulled off the line for repairs. So I wasn’t surprised when we received orders from Admiral Quinn to report to the Xanantine System to join the task force’s efforts.

Powering up the Boyce

As we approached the Xanantine system, we picked up a distress call from the SS Boyce. The Boyce was a freighter that Starfleet had diverted from its normal delivery route to deploy a series of emergency power emitters to the Xanantine system. The emitters generate energy which a ship with the proper access codes can then use to replenish their reserves and perform repairs. Because the Naussicans have become well-known for attempting to drain power from Starfleet ships in battle, we needed a way to recharge ships after battles close to the front lines. Unfortunately, while deploying the emitters, the Boyce had come under attack by Gorn forces. The Tirpitz was able to intervene in time to prevent the freighter’s destruction, but not before it had suffered a major power failure. We contacted Starfleet Command regarding the situation, and received the access codes for the emitters. Using those, we were able to activate the system, and direct the power collected from the emitters to the Boyce. With the power levels restored, the Boyce would be able to carry out the repairs they needed to get back underway.

Escorting the T'Pau

We were then contacted by Captain Saalar of the Vulcan medical vessel, the T’Pau. The T’Pau had been sent to deliver medical supplies to a planet in the region that had been suffering from an outbreak of Takanian syndrome. Saalar was concerned that since the planet was in the combat zone that the T’Pau would be attacked by enemy forces. He requested we escort his ship to the planet so his crew could complete their delivery. We were only too happy to oblige. And it turned out that Captain Saalar’s concerns were validated. We were attacked by a few groups of Klingon ships. We only encountered Birds of Prey, which made me suspect they had only expected to encounter the T’Pau. We made quick work of the Klingons and entered orbit of the planet.

On the planet surface

Before the crew of the T’Pau started to beam down, they preformed a scan of the planet’s surface. Their scans picked up weapons fire coming occurring in the settlement they had been sent to assist. Captain Saalar made a further request for our assistance. The T’Pau was a medical ship, and unprepared to deal with an armed resistance. Saalar asked us to send an away team to secure the landing zone so that the T’Pau’s doctors could safely beam down and begin treatment. After being reassured by Dr. Franklin that Takanian syndrome should not pose a risk to any personnel we sent to the planet’s surface, Mr. Scharf selected an away team to combat any enemy forces on the planet’s surface. When they arrived on the surface, the away team met with heavy resistance. A joint force between the Klingons and the Gorn had occupied the outpost. As Mr. Scharf’s away team engaged the enemy forces, they found themselves frequently going up against two or three squads of enemy troops at the same time. It took some time, but our away team was eventually able to defeat the enemy forces and make the planet safe for the T’Pau to perform its mission of mercy.

Rescuing the USS Eagle

As the away team returned, we received a priority one message from Starfleet Command. Starfleet had lost contact with the USS Eagle, a Federation medical ship that had been assigned to the task force. We were ordered to travel to the Trimble system, the last known location of the Eagle, at our best speed to render aid if possible. Because of spatial anomalies in the system which reduced our sensor range, it took us a few minutes after entering the system to locate the Eagle. When we did locate the ship, we saw her flanked by Klingon Birds of Prey. They didn’t hesitate to attack as we got closer to the disabled Federation ship. We defended ourselves from the Klingon ships before approaching within transporter range of the Eagle. Mr. Toran’s scans picked up several Klingon boarding parties over on the Eagle.

Klingons onboard the Eagle

When our away team boarded the Eagle, Mr. Scharf was able to use the ship’s internal sensors to locate what remained of the ship’s crew. They had managed to blockade themselves in shuttle bay one. The away team had to fight its way through the ship to reach the shuttle bay, coming across several squads of Klingon guards, as well as the bodies of the Starfleet crew that had been killed during the assault. The away team reached the shuttle bay just as the commander of the Klingon forces, a Captain Tor’ka, managed to break through the crew’s defenses. Between the efforts of Mr. Scharf’s away team and the survivors of the Eagle, they were able to defeat the remaining Klingons. It was only then that we learned what had happened to the Eagle. The ship had been transporting bio-mimetic gel and gene sequencers for medical research. Those same items could, in the wrong hands, be used for genetic engineering or the creation of bio weapons. As they passed through the region, they had picked up a distress call, which turned out to have been faked by the Klingons that attacked them. With the Klingons defeated, Captain Ayers was confident his crew could get the Eagle back up and running and would be able to complete their delivery mission.

Out of Combat

So Task Force Hippocrates is a patrol mission that isn’t labeled or assigned like a patrol mission. And I think it helps to give an idea of how things are going with the Klingon War. The first section, where the player rescues the Boyce, doesn’t seem to be connected directly to the other two missions. But it shows the Federation may be getting a little desperate. They conscript a civilian ship into setting up a defensive position for Starfleet. It may be something where the Federation wanted to hide what they were doing by using a civilian ship instead of a Starfleet vessel. But I would prefer to think that the Federation would rather send a military vessel into a combat zone before relying on civilian craft. Which may mean that the Federation is hurting for ships, and that the Boyce was the only one they could find at the time to even attempt the mission.

The T’Pau and the Eagle share a common theme in the Klingons attacking medical supply ships. In and of itself, having the Klingons attack Federation supply lines sounds like a valid battle strategy. But the conversations the player can have with Captain Ayers at the end of the Eagle mission make it sound like the Klingons could have had a much different plan behind their actions. I’m wondering if withing the next two or three missions, I’ll find myself invading a Klingon base that’s working on creating some kind of plague.